


Art vs. Science and Other Stories

by mongoose_bite



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Ossan Rental, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Tea Shop, Gamer AU - Freeform, High School, M/M, Older Eren Yeager, Reincarnation, Witcher AU, non-graphic mentions of torture, some Armin/Mikasa in chapter four, teacher eren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-27
Packaged: 2018-03-14 12:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3409835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/pseuds/mongoose_bite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of fills for Eruriren Week 2015.</p><p>01. Faith - Eren waits for them in chains. - A Witcher AU<br/>02. Sports - "I wish I could hit students legally." - A high school AU<br/>03. Loneliness - Eren tries to match-make his newest tenants. - A modern AU<br/>04. Persistence - Eren never stopped looking for them. - A reincarnation AU<br/>05. Art vs. Science - Erwin endures, Levi makes tea and Eren knows what he wants. - A tea shop AU<br/>06. Mistake -  Eren found himself alone and confused in Japan and all he wanted was a bit of help with this groceries. It's a shame google translate isn't perfect. - An Ossan Rental AU<br/>07. Surprise - His bosses discover Eren Can't Play. - A Gamer AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Faith

The heavy flail landed across Eren's back, making him grunt and grit his teeth, the chains restraining him rattling as his body swung under the blow. Blood and sweat trickled into his gleaming golden eyes undimmed by the pain.

“You fucking monster,” his captor said, breathing heavily. “Did you feel that? Should I do it again?” He did it again. Eren concentrated on breathing.

This man was the king's- well, _a_ king's torturer, and he approached his job with a kind of weary professionalism enlivened only by the genuine hate he had of Eren's golden eyes.

“You,” he said, prodding Eren's neck with the flail, forcing his head up. “Are not the first Witcher I've had to deal with in this dungeon. So much extra fucking work taking you mutants apart. It's exhausting.”

“Don't let me keep you from having a break,” Eren gritted out.

“Still mouthy, huh? You really think your friends will spring you?”

“I know they will. And they're nice enough to let you live if you keep out of their way while they do it.”

This time he didn't bother with the flail, he clobbered him with his big, meaty fist and Eren's ears rang and he tasted blood.

“Now look what you did.”

The torturer stalked off, tossing the flail on a nearby table. Eren sagged in the chains, catching his breath, hoping the pain would subside.

“And the worst of it is,” the torturer spoke, taking a long drink. “It's all a fucking waste. His Majesty is not interested in a single thing you have to say. I'm just killing time until your execution. Soon I hope; I'm sick of looking at you, sick of listening to you.”

Eren was tempted to make another smart remark, but as bold a front as he was keeping up, he didn't want to antagonise the man and face another lashing. The king had ordered he remain recognisable, and so the more exotic torture devices remained on the walls of this hellish place.

The torturer grumbled and ate off the tray sitting on the table and Eren closed his eyes and wished that his friends would hurry. They had to know where he was; Levi's elven Scoia'tael scouts had eyes everywhere in the forest, and surely one of the Templars would have thought to report the news to Erwin.

He doubted they were getting along, even with a common purpose, but the thought of them made him smile, his bloodied skin pulling slightly.

They'd come for him.

The sound of boots on stone had him opening his eyes in time to see the torturer getting to his feet after his meal.

“Well, can't let them think I'm going easy on you.”

Eren sighed, resigned.

“You're bored? Am I boring you? Still expecting your friends?” The torturer grinned, showing off a mouth full of broken teeth. “I don't think you've realised yet but if we don't want information, there's only one fucking reason we're keeping you alive.”

Eren lifted his head.

“Your friends are walking into a trap.”

Eren stared into the torturer's eyes, and his fingers twitched.

**

Levi carefully stepped through the bracken, arrow notched, watching his feet for the hidden grate that was supposed to be around here. A short distance away he could hear the Templar crashing through the undergrowth on the same quest, and if it weren't for the fact that he would draw any unwanted attention before they even guessed Levi was there, he would have put a blade through his neck just to shut him up.

He didn't like Erwin. Well, he hated most Humans, and Templars especially; Eren didn't really count as Human in his eyes. Eren was a Witcher, Human once maybe but treated just as badly by Humans now as Elves and Dwarves; worse even, because they feared him.

But Erwin had risked both his position and his life to help Eren in the past, and when he'd come looking for Levi, standing at the edge of the forest and bellowing into bemused elven ears, Levi had reluctantly agreed to let him help.

Levi felt metal under his soft leather boot and he stooped and checked to make sure this was the entrance to the old sewers they were looking for. He made a few bird calls to try and get Erwin's attention, but the big, round-eared moron presumably thought they were actual birds and didn't react. Eventually Levi buried an arrow in a tree next to his head and beckoned him over when he looked up.

Erwin braced himself and heaved, gritting his teeth as he pulled up the heavy, rusted grate. As soon as he could get a grip on the edge, Levi couched down and helped and the two of them shifted it with as little noise as possible.

Levi wrinkled his nose as he stared down into the dark. It smelled pretty bad.

“I'll go first,” Erwin said. Levi didn't argue.

He lowered himself down by his hands and dropped, and Levi heard the splash of water when he landed.

“It's about ten feet,” he called up. Levi didn't bother climbing in, he lithely dropped through the hole and landed crouched.

“I wonder if there is anything living down here,” Erwin said, lighting a torch.

“Count on it. Remember where we are. We need to come up under the castle dungeon.”

They came across alligators and a couple of shambling undead before they found the door leading to what they hoped was the castle dungeon. Levi hung back in the shadows while Erwin forged ahead, sword in hand. They found themselves in a large underground chamber.

“This is a chapel,” Erwin said, his voice echoing. “An abandoned one, probably. I wonder why it's here.”

Levi couldn't care less.

They were halfway down the length of the chapel when Levi heard a noise, and he dived down between two rows of pews just as the King's men stepped out of the alcoves lining the chapel. Arrows thudded into the wood around him and pinged off Erwin's shield. He'd dropped the torch to defend himself and the low flame made the shadows rise up around them.

Levi let his arrows fly, while Erwin swung his sword, but they had nowhere clear to go, pinned down in the middle of the room, only the aging pews for cover, whereas their attackers could duck into alcoves to avoid Levi's barbed arrows.

“We have to go forward!” Erwin said over the noise.

Levi knew that; they needed Eren, but they'd be walking right into the entire castle on high alert. Even Scoia'tael would think twice about infiltrating such a place, and with Erwin along, stealth was out of the question anyway.

He wasn't sure he'd want to leave Erwin behind by this point anyway. He appreciated the way the big Human put himself between Levi and their attackers so he could poison his arrows.

A guard ran at Erwin and he blocked and cut him down, even as an arrow landed in his relatively unprotected side.

“Shit.” He stumbled, but stayed standing. Levi made sure the archer died but this wasn't looking good. Erwin couldn't protect him forever and he didn't have unlimited arrows, or a forest to escape in.

Eren is depending on us, he thought. He'd be waiting for them, he knew. If we die here- Maybe they could make a run for the doors at the end of the chapel; maybe they could find somewhere to hide.

Wood splintered, scoring Levi's cheek as an axe bit into the wood just above his head. Erwin belted the man with his shield and Levi drew his wicked blade, following up and cutting his throat. He got blood all over his glove and sleeve but that was the least of his problems right then.

“Any ideas?” Erwin panted. Crouching down next to him with his shield raised. He must be desperate, Levi thought, if he's asking me for advice. And I'm desperate too, because I was hoping he'd have some himself.

“We're fucked,” Levi said flatly. “This was a trap and we walked right into it.”

“If you'd known it was a trap would you have still gone?” Erwin asked.

“For Eren?” He looked at his blade. “Yeah.”

“It's an honour to die with you, Elf.”

Levi unsheathed his second blade. “Let's see how many we can get through first.”

They were braced to move when the doors to the chapel burst open, and Eren's familiar howl, sweeter than any music, filled their ears. He was battered and bloody, carrying a plain sword in his hand and wearing nothing but his trousers and a glimmering shield of magic.

“Eren!” Erwin called.

Eren raised his right hand and made the _igni_ sign and screams filled the room as the king's men battered themselves against the floor and walls trying to put out the fire that burst from their clothes.

Levi and Erwin didn't hesitate to push the advantage.

“More are coming!” Eren shouted, rolling under a swing and lashing out with his blade. “I think they know I escaped.”

Erwin hurried to barricade the door while Levi cut a swathe through the singed soldiers, Eren at his side once more.

“We can get out through the sewers,” he said.

“It's always the sewers,” Eren said, flashing that brilliant grin.

They beat a hasty retreat, having got what they came for.

“I knew you'd come and get me,” Eren said, one arm around each of them as they practically carried him into the forest. Superhuman or not, he'd lost a lot of blood and once the adrenaline had run out he'd practically collapsed.

“We were the ones who needed rescuing,” Erwin said. He was injured as well, and the three of them were obliged to move slowly.

“It was a trap.”

“We know,” Levi said. “We should have known you'd rescue us though. It's what Witchers do, right?”

“Not as often as I'd like,” Eren said sadly. “I was waiting for you, but when I realised you were walking into a trap, I had to do something.”

“We all lived,” Erwin said.

“We nearly didn't, and I just want to say.” Eren smiled. “Before I pass out. I don't know what I'd do without you; without either of you. You are very,” his eyelids were drooping. “Important to me. You can't die.”

There was no reason the world would rearrange itself just because Eren declared it so, but Levi realised he had faith. Eren would always come through in the end, and judging by the expression on Erwin's face, he believed it too.


	2. Sports

Mr Jaeger looked to the sky and said fervently, “I wish I could hit students legally.”

It was at that exact moment Levi, seventeen-year-old misanthrope, fell utterly in love. Sure, he'd already noticed that Mr Jaeger was eye-candy. Most physical education teachers were, if they were of a gender you appreciated, and Mr Jaeger was no different. He was in his mid-twenties, broad-shouldered but lean with messy brown hair and a tan and a smile like a toothpaste commercial. He'd transferred in when Ms Brzenska went on long service leave two weeks ago and the girls had talked about nothing else since. Levi was content to admire him in silence.

Until the afternoon the class had been rowdier than usual and the usual troublemakers were talking back and Mr Jaeger had, well, not exactly snapped. He beamed at them, frowning at the same time, and made his declaration in such a way that no one could doubt the truth of his words.

The class as startled into silence, and Levi had found himself dealing with a sudden sense of respect, the desire to actually laugh, an elevated heart-rate and an incipient erection.

From that point on he noticed things, probably because he spent his time staring, but the way Mr Jaeger smiled, the way he was by turns encouraging, sympathetic and blunt, and that leashed temper. And that nice arse. When the weather was fine Mr Jaeger tended to wear shorts even when he was in a classroom. Levi started sitting closer to the front.

Levi wasn't stupid, despite his mediocre grades, and he was content to leave it at that until Erwin joined him on the roof one lunchtime as he watched Mr Jaeger coach the girls' basketball.

“What do you want?” Levi asked as Erwin folded his long frame onto the concrete ledge next to him.

“That,” Erwin said, nodding in Mr Jaeger's direction.

“Since when did you care about sports?” Levi said. Erwin was a fucking nerd; he missed half his classes, got near-perfect grades, talked to teachers like they were equals and was generally insufferable. But he also liked dick and they'd gotten into the habit of covering for each other when they missed class, and that habit had become some sort of friendship.

“Since Eren took my geography class yesterday to fill in for Pixis.”

Levi curled his lip at the use of Mr Jaeger's first name. So casual. Hard to know if it was deliberate though; Erwin learned all his teacher's first names, whether they wanted him to or not.

“He was so passionate,” Erwin smiled. “And honest; he said he knew I was bored but that I had to keep attending and that he'd give me more challenging work if I wanted.”

“What did you say?” Levi asked, curious despite himself.

“I said I'd turn up every day if he took me out for coffee at the end of the week.”

Levi stared at him. Erwin shrugged.

“He turned me down, this time.”

“He's probably not gay, you realise.”

Erwin laughed, in that incredibly annoying manner of his. “Oh, Levi. You haven't googled him, have you?” He leaned in and whispered in Levi's ear, “He's very fucking gay. I guarantee.”

Levi batted him away. “So? You don't think you have a chance, do you?”

“I've got more than you do. At least I talk to him; all you do is stare creepily from the back of the class.”

Levi narrowed his eyes. “A nerd like you has no chance.”

“If you say so.”

Still, Levi thought it might be time to lift his game. He knew he couldn't compete with Erwin when it came to grades, and he didn't think there was any point in trying. He didn't want Eren- Mr Jaeger to view him as a good student, after all. His strong points lay in other areas anyway.

He started putting in a bit more effort on the court, working up a sweat just because he could run his hands through his hair, or pull up his shirt to wipe his face, always when he thought Mr Jaeger might be looking at him.

That week two girls asked him out. Levi decided he had to be doing something right.

“Why the fuck are you here?” Levi got to loom over Erwin for once because Erwin was sitting on the ground, sketchbook on his knees.

“I'm here for a bit of sketching practice,” Erwin said innocently.

“Oh yeah, what are you sketching, Mr Jaeger's arse?”

“No.”

“You aren't even that good,” Levi sneered, looking at Erwin's sketchbook.

“I'm better than you.”

Levi nearly punched him. He was legendarily bad at art and he didn't like being reminded that their _actual art teacher_ had had to fake a cough to pretend she hadn't been laughing at Levi's efforts back when they were juniors.

“Just fuck off!”

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” Mr Jaeger approached them.

“Yeah, he's distracting us from basketball practice,” Levi got in first.

“I'm practising my sketching.” Erwin took the opportunity to hold out his book so Mr Jaeger could see it. “I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed, Eren.” He gave him one of his perfect smiles.

“Yes, very nice, Erwin,” Mr Jaeger said, glancing at the sketches. “Although I am wondering why you're here now when you weren't in class earlier.”

Levi smirked. Busted.

Erwin didn't look busted, he just smiled and shrugged. “I don't know.”

Mr Jaeger frowned at him and then decided it wasn't worth the effort. “I don't see why you can't sketch, however.”

“But-”

“What, Levi?” Mr Jaeger turned his green eyed gaze on him and Levi wished he had Erwin's way with words because he found he couldn't say anything at all. “Are you that easily distracted?”

“No, sir!” Shit. Fuck you, Erwin.

“Then get back to work, and stop antagonising each other.” Eren sighed, and ran his hand through his hair, muttering about hitting students legally and Levi found himself smiling a little although he wiped it away when he realised Erwin could see.

Levi was the shortest guy on the basketball team, and this close to being the shortest guy in school, but that only made him more determined. He normally played hard, and but now he played even harder when Mr Jaeger was supervising, and he knew, he _knew_ he was impressed. He forgot about Erwin, and concentrated on the game. When it was over Eren slapped him on the back and told him he'd done well.

Levi grinned, the way he never usually did at school.

To his gratification, Mr Jaeger gaped at his expression. “I see this is your passion,” he said eventually.

“Nah,” Levi shrugged, feeling awkward again. “Not the game.”

“Ah.” Mr Jaeger removed his hand. “Well, whatever motivates you, Levi.” He smiled at him, sympathetically even, but what was the point of that? It didn't relieve the ache in Levi's heart or his pants.

Now Mr Jaeger knew about both of them, and Erwin got even more insufferable. He _flirted_. Outright fucking flirted, and Eren- dammit, if Erwin could call him Eren Levi would too, in his own head at least. Eren was patient and gentle in his rebuffs, but Erwin was convinced he was wearing him down.

Levi couldn't work with words so well. He tried cracking some jokes after practice and Eren, bless his gorgeous face, actually laughed at them, before shutting his mouth and telling Levi they probably weren't appropriate. Levi counted that as a win anyway.

Erwin discovered Eren's penchant for social activism and turned any class he had with him into a conciousness raising meeting, or tried to; Eren didn't always let him. Levi discovered Eren clicking his fingers at one of the semi-stray cats that hung around the school because the teachers kept feeding them, and that was a creature Levi could communicate with and he demonstrated, calling the cat over and staring dreamily at Eren's smile as he patted the animal.

But this fragile calm couldn't last. If Erwin had just been content to watch and pine like any normal teenager, but this constant competition with no end in sight was wearing on both of them.

“You need to cut this stupid shit out or you're going to get in trouble.”

They'd met behind the science building after school, the juniors who'd gathered there scattering before them when they saw their expressions.

“You think I might have a chance and you know that you don't.”

“No,” Levi said. He didn't know what he thought, if he was honest. Eren didn't dislike him, he knew that much.

Erwin was surprised by his confidence. “Then what, scared you'll win and you won't know where to stick it?”

“What if he reports us?” Levi asked. “You're not out to your folks yet!”

Erwin couldn't answer that.

“You said they probably wouldn't pay for college if you came out-”

“I don't care,” Erwin said. “I'll get along somehow. He's worth it.”

“He's not gonna go out with you. Or me. He's a teacher.”

Silence fell. The unspoken truth was now spoken and there was nothing they could do about it. Erwin sighed. They sat down next to each other with their backs to the wall of the science building. Levi stared at his shoes.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Erwin said.

“It sucks,” Levi said. “Everything sucks.” Except Eren.

“So is this whole thing over now?” Eren asked.

The looked up, startled, and scrambled guiltily to their feet.

“What thing?” Erwin asked, not very convincingly.

Eren raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had a better opinion of me than that, although given the amount of effort you've put into 'wearing me down' maybe I shouldn't be surprised.”

“Sorry,” Levi muttered.

“If I did decide to throw away my career and livelihood, did you consider exactly how I'd be likely to go about it?”

“What?” Erwin looked puzzled.

“What am I always saying?”

“You wish you could hit students legally,” Levi said. He flinched as Eren reached out and grabbed his ear, grabbing Erwin's as well.

“I should bang your stupid heads together,” he growled. Then his grip slackened and he smiled at them. It was a strange smile. Levi thought his heart might have stopped beating- no, wait, there it was, loud as thunder in his ears. “Graduate,” he said softly.

He released them and stepped back.

“Graduate,” he repeated as he walked away. He stopped and turned, pointing at Levi and then at Erwin. “ _You_ should get at least a B average, and _you_ better have perfect attendance for the rest of the year.”

And then he was gone.

They stared after him for a good thirty seconds, trying to work out what just happened. Levi rubbed his ear absently.

“Ugh, I have to attend every class?” Erwin sagged.

“I need a B average?” Levi's eyes widened as the true horror started to grip him. “A B average? Fucking _how_?”

“Hey,” Erwin nudged him with his elbow. “I'll help.”

“Yeah?” Levi raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I'm gonna have to go to class from now on anyway. I may as well do something to pass the time.”


	3. Loneliness

Eren's job was his life, in the sense that he was paid to live and basically be himself. He was the concierge for an apartment building in an old-fashioned province where such things were still common. He was working on his Masters degree, which is how he justified such a low-key lifestyle, but if he was honest he enjoyed it. He knew all the residents, he organised tradesmen when things needed fixing, signed for people's parcels, let them in when they forgot their keys, and made sure the building was secure. He wasn't paid to change people's light-bulbs and water their plants when they were away, nor was he paid to feed the cats that lazed around near the front steps on sunny days, but he did those things as well.

He felt a kind of quiet proprietorial joy in keeping this little slice of the world running smoothly, and his residents were always welcome to drop by for a chat. They were mostly older people, and all eccentric in some way. The apartments were too small for more than one person, so the people who lived in them were often disconnected from their families for one reason or another. Eren didn't want them to be lonely, and he made sure they knew they could always talk to him.

Erwin moved in during the summer, recently divorced from his husband and starting a second degree as a mature age student at the university in town. He was tall and handsome and completely lost and Eren showed him around campus and gave him study tips and watched him live on ramen while he worked out how to live on his new reduced budget.

Levi arrived several weeks later with nothing but a bag of clothes and an honourable discharge. Eren helped him carry his new bed and wardrobe up the stairs. He'd lived in this town a long time before, he said, but he had no family now. None worth mentioning. He didn't want to talk about it and Eren understood; that wasn't so unusual here.

Erwin sprinted for the bus and Levi stopped to pet the cats on the front steps. Erwin went for walks at midnight as a study break and at seven in the morning Levi was just getting back from his run. Erwin kept forgetting his washing in the machines overnight and Levi spring-cleaned every week. The sprightly old lady on the second floor flirted furiously with them both, although to be fair, she flirted with Eren as well. Erwin flirted back. Levi just fled.

Eren added them happily to his collection of tenants, and watching them as the weeks passed he came to two conclusions: one, they were very lonely and needed someone else in their lives and two, they were perfect for each other. But they were hardly going to notice that keeping such different schedules, and Eren knew he'd have to do something.

So he invited them to dinner.

Erwin was grateful and Levi was puzzled, but they both showed up, and Eren's ground floor apartment felt full and lively.

The next week, Levi brought beer, and Erwin brought dessert.

To Eren's delight, they seemed to get on well, despite their different natures. Levi told stories of his time in the army, and Erwin explained how everyone kept assuming he was a lecturer not a student and talked about his classes.

Erwin refused to take up morning running but Eren decided he would. Sometimes Erwin would bring his coursework downstairs at night and they'd drink coffee and study, and sometimes go for a walk. Levi named the cats after kinds of tea. They both chipped in to contribute to the weekly dinner that became the bi-weekly dinner.

And Eren was so happy for them. When Levi grumbled that he'd found Erwin's clothes in the washing machine again, Eren laughed and told him that it was only the second time this month at least. When Erwin complained about Levi vacuming at eight in the morning Eren pointed out that at least he wasn't late to class. And they'd smile fondly at him and agree and Eren was sure his plan was working.

Eren's job, last thing, was to walk out and make sure the front gate was secure. It didn't always close properly, and while Levi and Erwin were careful, some of his other tenants weren't. So around ten he stood up from his desk and stretched and walked out to check on the gate. It was a fine night, just a few wisps of cloud, and he strolled out, breathing deep of the evening air. Most of the lights in the building were off, but as usual Erwin's was still on. He glanced up, and to his surprise Erwin was on the balcony.

Levi was too. They were sitting and drinking beer and talking and Eren heard Erwin laugh at something, and Levi relaxed against the railing, one arm over the edge.

And Eren was really glad.

Really, really glad. He tugged at the gate viciously and it rattled, secure. Really, really fucking happy. Eren stared up at them but they didn't notice him, engrossed in conversation. Eren stomped back to his apartment and slammed the door closed and breathed harshly through his nose. Why was he mad? Everything was fine. Everything was completely fine and he flung himself face-first onto his bed and was utterly miserable. They weren't lonely at all, now.

He didn't get up to join Levi on his run because he might not be going for a run that morning, given how late he'd stayed up (with Erwin, in Erwin's room) the night before, and Eren didn't want to know. He drooped over his desk at his usual spot and managed a wan smile when one of his tenants went out to return her library books. He couldn't concentrate on his work all day.

“Hey.” Eren looked up when he heard Levi's voice to see Erwin and Levi standing at the desk that evening.

“We brought dinner stuff,” Erwin said with a smile, holding up the bag of groceries. Oh right, it was dinner night.

“Oh.”

“You look like shit,” Levi said.

Eren smiled. “No, I'm fine. Really.” Deep breath. “I'm very happy for you guys.”

“You don't look happy,” Erwin said. “You look like you want to cry.”

“What do you mean, you're happy for us?” Levi narrowed his eyes.

“Well, I saw you guys. Last night.”

They stared blankly at him for a long moment.

“Ah, are you thinking strange things?” Levi asked. He put his hand on the top of Eren's head and ruffled his hair. “Tch. I have better taste than this ancient nerd.”

“Were you jealous?” Erwin asked quietly.

Levi looked a bit startled and stopped distressing Eren's haircut.

“Um.”

They were looking at him.

“Jealous of which of us?” Levi asked cautiously and they both looked, well, hopeful, but braced for disappointment.

“I don't really know. I didn't really think about it until you know, just now.” He glanced at them hopefully, rubbing the back of his neck, but they were still waiting. “I like you both.”

“Huh, I told you,” Levi said.

“What?” Eren asked.

“We like you too, Eren,” Erwin said.

“Oh.”

Silence.

“So are we having dinner or not?” Levi asked.

“Yeah,” Eren grinned. “Come in. I'll start cooking. What did you guys bring?”

Dinner sort of became every night after that.


	4. Persistence

When Mikasa asked Eren to pick Adrian up from school, he didn't hesitate to say yes. It wasn't just because he'd do anything for her, although he would, but he hadn't been to Adrian's high school before, and Eren never missed an opportunity to meet new people, just on the off-chance they might not be strangers.

He'd met Mikasa during Orientation week when he attended college, and she'd met Armin at a debating competition in high school and they were already inseparable when Eren rejoined the trio. Eren had looked into her eyes and had all come flooding back and the three of them had spent the next few days in a pile, reminiscing. Armin and Mikasa wanted so badly the home and security that their previous life had denied them, and Eren had sniffled all through their wedding.

The three of them had practically raised their son (named after no one; there were too many to pick from) together.

Over the years they'd found the others. An email from Ymir in Australia saying she'd met Hange running for local office. Connie awkwardly contacting him through his work after seeing him on the company website. Six months frantically trying to track down Marco after Mikasa had spotted him in the crowd of a televised basketball game. Armin nearly crashing his car after noticing Jean busking by a train station. Annie introducing herself with a weirdly formal letter nearly ten pages long. But it was the past, and a long time ago, and enmity had faded; old veterans of a forgotten war they forgave each other. Grew up. Lived.

And Eren never gave up. Every time they found one of their old acquaintances his hope was renewed, because there were glaring absences in their strange network.

Levi. Erwin. Googling turned up nothing.

Eren did the calculations in his head over and over. He was thirty-five now, Levi would be around fifty, and Erwin somewhat older. Maybe pushing sixty even. He didn't care. He'd been young and traumatised, but as he'd grown up in this world, free and safe, he'd realised what he'd missed the first time around. Sometimes he second guessed himself, thought maybe he imagined it; that they hadn't looked at him so fondly, that they hadn't saved him secret smiles, but either way he missed them so much it hurt. They'd died for him and he wanted to thank them for it with tears in his eyes, like he had for Petra and Hannes and the others who had done the same.

Sometimes he wondered if they'd died. Something stupid like a car accident. But he couldn't convince himself they'd let that happen, and so he never said no when he was asked or invited somewhere. He strolled parks and art galleries on weekends; he had a reputation for being gregarious and friendly, the first person to welcome someone new to the office. He met many amazing people. Fell in and out of love twice. Didn't regret anything; Levi taught him that. Fought for what was worth fighting for; Erwin's influence in the guile with which he surprised people sometimes.

He parked in one of the visitor's parking spaces outside the school and got out. It was dark already as Adrian had some sort of after school rehearsal. Eren was used to this sort of thing; with parents like that it wasn't surprising that Adrian was a mildly terrifying overachiever and would probably be running the country someday, assuming he wanted to. Sometimes he said he wanted to run away to the seaside and become an artist and Mikasa had suggested it was Eren's influence.

Eren followed the sound of slightly discordant notes to the music room. Everyone was packing up, and he nodded politely at the parents and students leaving, as always scanning faces and hiding his disappointment. Still. He wasn't sure what he'd think if Erwin or Levi had married and had kids. It was hard to imagine, but Eren would deal with it. Anything to know they were okay.

Eren stuck his head around the door. “Adrian?”

“Eren, Mom said to expect you.” Adrian had sat down very solemnly at the age of seven and told Eren that he wasn't actually Adrian's uncle and calling him 'Uncle Eren' just wasn't right. Eren had accepted this revelation with good grace and Adrian had called him Eren ever since. He was kneeling on the floor, carefully putting his flute back into its case, and Eren stepped back to let a girl with a cello almost as big as she was get past him.

He was still watching the room so he didn't see who made the audible gasp at the end of the corridor, and when he turned, wondering what had happened, all he heard was running footsteps. He thought nothing of it.

He introduced himself to the supervising teacher, and he and Adrian ambled back towards the car park, discussing what they'd have for dinner.

Two people were waiting for them. Still teenagers but barely, hands in pockets, sloping shoulders, holding themselves in the loose aggressive posture of men not yet comfortable with their adulthood and with things still yet to prove. Eren instinctively calculated how much trouble they were likely to be, stepping slightly ahead of Adrian. He squared his shoulders; head up, an adult prepared to put them in their place if necessary.

And then he drew closer, and he saw their faces and he recognised them and he forgot he was an adult entirely. He felt like he was fifteen again. Felt like he'd forgotten how to breathe. Felt like this was just another dream like all the others, and his footsteps stuttered to a halt, Adrian nearly walking into him.

“Fuck, it _is_ him,” Levi said shakily. His hair was longer, his eyes weren't as shadowed and his frame was lighter and leaner but there was no mistaking his captain. Eren stared at him, speechless, and then at Erwin, tall and gawky with acne on his cheeks.

“Oh God,” Eren said, his vision blurring.

“Eren?” Adrian asked.

“Um!” He didn't want to burst into tears in front of Adrian. “I- I know them, go wait by the car. This is, Adrian-he's not mine, he's Mikasa and Armin's. They're fine. Everyone's fine. We missed you.” He didn't know if he was making sense or not.

He stepped forward, wanting to touch them, to reassure himself that they were real and he was so glad they'd met each other. When he met Mikasa it was like the whole world, or rather he himself suddenly made sense, like he finally knew who he was. To think of them living alone and without understanding-

“We weren't expecting to meet you for a few more years,” Erwin said.

“Yeah, I guess,” Eren said, suddenly self-conscious. He was the adult here; sure he hadn't found any grey hairs yet, but he was starting to weather. It hadn't bothered him to think they'd be in their fifties but this was unexpected. They were so young and vital. He'd always been a bit sad he'd missed out on so much of their lives and with each passing year he'd felt it more keenly. And now he had to adjust so many of the things in his head. All three of them stood awkwardly while Adrian leant against Eren's car and patiently played with his phone.

“You must have been waiting a long time,” Levi said.

“Yeah.” So long. And there it was, the compassion he'd missed. He looked into their eyes, not into their faces and recognised them again; the young-old look that he himself had worn. The weight of two lives. It was still _them_ , no matter how old they were.

He stepped forward. He wasn't going to waste another moment and he wrapped an arm around each of them, and pulled them close. They smelled like teenage  boys, so pretty awful, and he didn't care. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt them cautiously embrace him back.

He'd shaken Erwin's hand. He'd touched Levi one way or another a dozen times.

He'd never held them before.

Shit, he was going to cry.

“We thought about you,” Erwin said cautiously, sounding a bit emotional himself. God, his voice was so strange; young and raw compared to what Eren remembered. Everything was going to be so strange. But good, he decided. Very, very good.

“We'll work it out,” Eren said.

“We're legal,” Levi said, and Eren drew back in shock.

“Well. That was blunt,” he said. Good, he thought, his heart thumping.

“Don't try and play the responsible adult around us.” Levi looked him in the eye.

“Of course not, Captain,” Eren said, trying to keep a straight face. “But shouldn't you be getting home soon? It's dark and your parents will worry,” he teased.

“I texted them to say I'd stay out earlier,” Erwin said.

“My folks don't care,” Levi said smugly. His expression softened, “We can catch up.”

“Yeah, I'd like that.” He felt Erwin ruffle his hair, and he grinned.

**

Amin's phone buzzed. He sighed and looked up from the screen before reaching over to check it. Adrian had sent him a text.

_> >He's found them. Can you give me a ride home?_

Armin smiled and typed an affirmative; it was about time.


	5. Science (Art vs. Science)

It seemed like fate. Erwin was alone with hours to kill in an unfamiliar city when he saw the sign above the little tea shop: _Art vs. Science._ There was another sign in the window: _We_ _ Don't  _ _Sell Coffee._ Both signs seemed strangely relevant, and he found himself walking up for a closer look.

In the windows were displays of tea sets and similar items, and Erwin was obliged to peer through them to catch a glimpse of the little tables and booths inside. It looked like it should be cramped; there wasn't a lot of unused space, but when Erwin pushed open the door, rattling the chime hanging from it as he did so, the interior didn't feel oppressively small. It also smelled amazing. He stopped and inhaled as he looked around. At two in the afternoon there weren't many customers; a young woman tapping away at a laptop in the corner and three elderly people sitting around a table talking over a litter of used tea things and a half-empty glass teapot.

Erwin approached the counter. Standing behind it was a short broad-shouldered man about his own age (probably; he wore it well and it was hard to say for certain) with short dark hair and an expression of professionally genial enquiry that didn't exactly suit his face.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “What would you like?”

“Hello.” There was an entire wall of tins of tea behind the counter, and Erwin looked up at it, a bit nonplussed, and then down at the laminated menu on the counter. He knew there were different kinds of tea, he just hadn't been aware of quite how many.

After a few moments fruitlessly scouring it for inspiration, Erwin gave up. “I'm trying to give up coffee,” he said. “Can you recommend something?”

“Hm. Just a moment.” He raised his voice slightly, “Eren, this is your department.”

Eren turned out to be an attractive young man, who emerged from the back room tying on an apron over his clothes and giving Erwin a smile that suited his face absolutely perfectly. He was in his early twenties, and Erwin found himself smiling back.

“How can I help?” Eren asked.

“I'm trying to give up coffee,” Erwin said. Eren asked him about his coffee preferences while the other man went on to efficiently decant half dozen different kinds of tea into cute little bags for a man in a suit who paid quite a startling amount of money for the collection.

“Let's see what you might like.” Eren turned around to look at the tins of tea thoughtfully, while Erwin found himself looking at the way the ends of his hair brushed the back of his neck. Erwin was already pretty sure what he liked already and it wasn't the tea. Eventually Eren suggested something called Golden Monkey Tea which sounded horribly expensive but he was so enthusiastic about it Erwin didn't feel he was being recommended it _because_ it was expensive and he was a clueless newbie who wouldn't know any better.

He ordered a pot. He had nowhere else to go this afternoon, and for the first time since arriving here he'd found a spot he felt he might be able to relax in. He picked a table that gave him a good view of the shop, the counter and the front door. Eren didn't make his pot of tea; the other man did with a look of peaceful concentration. He really took tea seriously, Erwin thought. Eren collected some empty plates from the old people's table, and talked cheerfully with them for a few moments. It was a nice atmosphere; old fashioned despite the sign indicating there was free wifi.

He hoped Eren would serve him, just to get a chance to talk to him again, and he wasn't disappointed. Erwin was craning his neck to look at the Art vs Science sign when Eren approached with a beautiful little tea set similar to the ones for sale in the windows on a tray.

“I'm the art,” he said.

“You certainly are,” Erwin replied without thinking.

Eren laughed and flushed entertainingly. “I mean, I make blends and recommend things to people while Levi makes the tea with scientific precision.”

“You own this place together?” Erwin had assumed Eren would be an employee, give the age difference between them, but Eren nodded. “It's a very nice shop. Why Art vs Science though? Why not Art and Science?”

“Because we always disagree,” Eren smiled. “But not in a bad way.”

Eren left him to it, and Erwin wasn't game to handle the delicate looking china in his right hand, so he used his left to carefully pour. Eren came back later to ask him what he thought of the tea and Erwin told him it was very nice, even if part of him was disappointed it wasn't coffee. But then again, if he hadn't been addicted he would probably have given it up a while ago. He rested his phone on the table but he spent the next couple of hours just watching the shop. It was never packed, but there was a steady stream of people buying tea by weight. There was what you might call an afternoon rush, and after watching a pair of teenage girls at the table near him share a slice of cheesecake, Erwin ordered one for himself.

He got the impression that even if he hadn't ordered anything more he wasn't about to be moved on. The old people were there for ages and left casting regretful looks over their shoulders and telling Levi they'd see him next week.

The following afternoon, Erwin brought a book with him and ordered the same again. He even got the same table. At least his right hand held a book fine. He knew Eren had noticed it; the prosthetic looked okay from a distance, but wasn't that convincing close up. He didn't say anything, however. Erwin wouldn't have minded if he had; he would have been happy to talk with Eren about anything.

Eren hadn't been joking about the disagreements; Levi seemed to grumble all the time, but there was no heat in it. When he didn't think the customers could hear he'd curse like a sailor; inventively, with long, complicated insults directed at inanimate objects that had Erwin staring furiously and blankly at the page as he strained his ears to hear the details. He wondered if it would be creepy to write some of them down, and he wondered how a man like Levi ended up with a tea shop like this and a business partner like Eren.

Eren seemed to find Levi amusing. They were clearly used to each other; they rarely got in each other's way, and they seemed to know what needed doing and divide up the work without words. Generally, Levi would clean and make the tea, while Eren served the customers. Erwin wondered why he was wasting so much time observing how a tea shop worked, but he had nothing better to do.

They grew used to him as well; Levi didn't necessarily mutter his curses when Erwin was the only customer in earshot, and Eren like to stop by and talk about his day when he had a few moments.

The shop closed at five, and Erwin left a polite twenty minutes before that closing time, so they wouldn't be inconvenienced. Every time he stepped out of the fragrant air of the shop and back into the city streets, he fought the urge to turn around and go right back inside.

A few days later he wasn't free until nearly four, and when Levi looked up at the chime he commented, “I thought we'd sent you broke.”

“Not quite,” Erwin said.

“Welcome back!” Eren grinned at him.

“I was held up at the university,” he explained, although neither had asked. They'd noticed his absence though, and that made him a little bit happy.

“Oh, are you a teacher or a student?” Eren asked, in a tone of voice that suggested that he'd been wondering.

“Neither. I'm an experimental subject.”

They both stared at him, Levi with eyes narrowed in suspicion, Eren with eyes wide in surprise. Erwin found himself laughing at the picture they made.

“It's true! They still haven't figured out how I manage to escape the cage every day.” At least Eren thought his joke was funny, Levi just raised an eyebrow. Erwin held out his prosthetic hand. “They're working on connecting prosthetics up to nerves, to restore feeling to people who've lost limbs. But they only do it a few hours a day; we got held up by computer issues this time.”

“Ohhh,” Eren nodded. “That's pretty cool.”

“Yeah.”

“So what do you do?” Eren asked, when he brought the tea over.

“When I'm not a lab rat? I used to be an artist. I have a job too, although I took extended medical leave so I could participate in this trial.”

“So you're not from around here?”

“No, I'm staying in a motel for the duration of the trial. They're going to take the chips out of me when the trial's over. They're not cleared for long-term use in humans yet. Still early days.” Erwin tried to look hopeful, but Eren just frowned.

“Sorry to depress you,” Erwin said.

“No, no it's fine. I just.” Deep breath, “I hope you get your dream back,” Eren said quickly, and then he turned and fled.

Erwin didn't know what that was about. He hadn't mentioned a dream. Not specifically. Erwin pinched his prosthetic fingers closed. He could hold a pen with them, but without feeling, without being able to use his wrist or gauge how heavily he was pressing on the paper, he'd found it so frustrating to try and draw.

If he was being honest, he hadn't really tried all that hard. If he did his best, and failed, where would that leave him? Not much left other than a job that would be twice as tedious to do. He put his hope in science to fix it all for him, but he knew a best case scenario was years off.

Left-handed, he poured his tea.

“How'd it happen?” Levi asked, when he came to collect the empty teapot.

“Car accident. A truck ploughed though the intersection, rammed straight into the side of my car, basically ground the nose off and took my arm with it and well, I was lucky; the rest of me got off with only bruises and whiplash. The trucking company gave me a decent payout, which is good because I ran out of paid sick leave a long time ago. I'm doing okay, I'll worry about it when I run out of money, I guess.”

Levi looked at him. “How's the tea?”

“I like it. I'll miss it when I go back home.”

“You can order it online,” Levi said. “I'll write you out some instructions as to how to make it properly.”

“That's- thank you.”

Levi wasn't smiling or anything like that, but Erwin recognised in some way he was being reached out to. The next day was Saturday. Art vs Science was closed on weekends, and Erwin didn't begrudge them their days off. He went to the art gallery instead and then he made the mistake of going to Starbucks and ordering tea. He didn't finish it.

When he left the lab on Monday, Erwin found himself in the university book shop. He hadn't brought any art supplies with him, and he fingered the paper on the sketchbooks and looked at the pens and pencils. He bought a blank notebook small enough to fit under his coat and the cheapest adequate pen he could find.

Start again, he told himself. Right from the beginning.

Then he returned to Art vs Science.

“I'd like to try something different today,” he told Eren.

“Hm. How different?”

“I don't know. Another type of tea? How about green tea?” It was supposed to be good for you or something, he'd heard.

“I know just the thing.”

Erwin went to his usual table, and soon Eren brought over something he said was genmaicha.

“It's got rice in it,” he said. “You'll be able to taste it.”

Erwin honestly wasn't sure he liked it at first. He was used to stronger drinks, but something about it tasted clean, and he propped the notebook up against the table, fitted the pen into his hand, and started to draw the tiny earthenware cup the tea was served in.

It started badly. It got worse. He turned the page and began again. At some point Eren came and swapped his teapot for a full one, murmuring 'no charge' as he did so. Erwin thanked him absent-mindedly.

I hate you so much, I love you so much, he thought to his work, he thought to the inked pages, the empty pages. It's so hard, it's all so hard. He couldn't believe how complacent he'd been, complaining about how hard it was when he had no idea how much more difficult it could be.

When he looked up his stomach was aching from lack of food, and he realised it was dark outside. The other customers had all long gone.

“Shit!” he stood up abruptly, realising it was nearly six. An hour after closing. He wondered for a moment if they'd forgotten him and just gone home, but the lights were still on. “I'm so sorry,” he said, as Eren and Levi emerged from the back room. “Why didn't you tell me? I've kept you back.”

“It's fine,” Eren said, clearing his table. “It seemed more important to let you work.”

Erwin looked at his notebook. “I was just drawing teacups.”

Eren smiled gently at him, “Exactly.”

“It wasn't like we were wasting our time,” Levi said, standing aside as Eren carried the tea set into the back room. “There's always things to be done.”

“Even so,” Erwin said. “Can I make it up to you somehow?”

“Pizza!” Eren exclaimed.

Levi shrugged, “You have your answer.”

The three of them went out, and it was the nicest evening Erwin had experienced in a while. Eren's goodnight was 'see you tomorrow.' Erwin stood on the curb outside his hotel and watched them drive away.

Erwin was careful not to let it happen again, however, keeping an eye on the time. It was slow and frustrating and sometimes he would put his notebook aside, yank the pen out of his hand, and concentrate on his tea. He'd watch Eren and Levi and think, I am being indulged and I don't know why. It was inevitable he'd lose interest in teacups.

He drew Levi first. Easier, in a way. Eren's hair was soft and difficult to draw; each time slightly different, but Levi's was neat and straight, like his nose. He stayed stiller, concentrating with that slight frown for minutes at a time as he watched the water temperature, while Eren was always in motion.

Levi didn't seem to notice he was being stared at the way Eren did either. Every couple of minutes Eren would glance at him and Erwin would have to look away.

The month-long trial drew to a close, and Erwin found himself sitting in Art vs Science and wondering what the fuck he was doing with his time. What had he achieved, staring enviously at this relationship between two people (and despite the lack of public affection, Erwin was sure it was a relationship by this time; there was such a bond between them) that he wasn't a part of. The tea didn't calm him down this time.

He flipped through his notebook, full of clumsy sketches of tea sets and Eren's smile and Levi's frown and he had to _leave_ next week.

Fuck everything. He got up and left, his tea unfinished. He heard Eren call his name as he left, but he didn't look back. He needed to get away from that place before he got even more entangled than he already was. Heartbroken old idiot.

He stayed away until he went back.

“Eren, he's back,” Levi called when Erwin stepped in through the door, the smell of tea making his chest ache.

“I thought you weren't coming back!” Eren rounded the counter and came right up to him. “When you ran out I didn't know what to think.”

“I'm leaving in a few days,” Erwin said. “The trial's over so they're going to take the chips out of my arm next.”

“Are you coming back later?”

“I'd like to do another trial but it's expensive to stay here. And I don't think my job is going to put up with much more of this. They'd rather fire me than pay to make accommodations.”

“Stay with us then,” Eren said quickly. “Do the next trial.”

“What?”

Eren glanced over his shoulder at Levi for backup.

Levi frowned. “You're treating him like a kitten you found in a cardboard box or something.”

“He came to us,” Eren said. “It's more like a stray cat we started feeding.”

“I couldn't possibly-”

“I don't mind,” Levi said. Didn't he realise he was half in love with his boyfriend? And the way Eren looked at him, Erwin wasn't sure what was going on any more. Eren had missed him and Levi must have noticed. It took him a moment to realise that Eren was touching his prosthetic arm through his coat, encouraging and hopeful.

“What about my job?”

“Fuck your job! If they're going to treat you like crap, just leave.” Eren clenched his fist and frowned, “Your art is more important.” He looked so earnest.

“I said I was an artist, but Eren, I never made enough money to live on. And I can't, I can't just move in for weeks at a time.”

“But-”

“Eren, leave him alone,” Levi said. “Tea?”

Erwin sighed. “Yes, thank you. Black today.”

Levi delivered the tea, and to Erwin's surprise he sat in the chair opposite.

“This shop,” Levi began. “It was my dream, not Eren's. His father was a surgeon and so he inherited quite a lot of money, and got us set up. He insisted I own half, even though he put up the capital. I am twice his age, and I am not easy to get along with, and I did my best to talk him out of a lot of things. But he normally gets what he wants.”

“I see,” Erwin said.

“No, you don't. What he wants now is you; your happiness, your dream. When we first got together, I made him promise that he wouldn't constrain himself on my behalf. That he wouldn't let any of this hold him back from anything or anyone. If you like him, go get him.”

“What about you?” Erwin asked, incredulous.

Levi shrugged awkwardly. “You aren't going to replace me; he's made that clear. And I like you too. I have a thing for underdogs, maybe. Even with a fucking plastic hand you draw better than I ever could. And it takes guts to turn yourself into a cyborg, even temporarily. They're going to take them out, aren't they?”

“Yeah. It's minor surgery. I don't have to stay in hospital.”

“Even so, you can do better than go back to an empty hotel room wait for the painkillers to wear off. We've got a fold-out couch. You're not a slob, are you?”

“I try not to be.”

“Well, that'll do, I suppose. It's only a couple of days. A more sensible idea than a few weeks, don't you think?”

“And then what?”

“You go back to your shitty job, you try to make tea and you'll suck at it- don't argue; you're like Eren, too impatient. Your tea will be rushed. You'll miss us, you'll quit your job, you'll pack up all your disgusting paint splattered clothes and turn up on our doorstep-”

“And we'll welcome you home,” Eren said. Levi had been holding his gaze so intently Erwin hadn't even noticed him approach.

“That sounds.” Erwin covered his eyes with his hand because they were stinging. “Really good.”

“Good.” Levi stood up. “Your tea's getting cold.”


	6. Mistake

“Are you sure you're going to be alright?” Mikasa asked.

Eren sighed. “I'll be fine. And even if I wasn't you don't have any choice. Get over there, and terrify the opposition and close that deal.”

“I can't believe they fucked it up so badly,” Mikasa frowned. “Okay, passport, laptop, tickets. Good.” She took Eren's face between her perfectly manicured hands and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Don't get into trouble.”

“It's Japan, how could I possibly get into trouble? I'm not gonna join the yakuza or anything. Do you know how low your crime rate is? Just go, you'll miss your flight.”

Eventually Mikasa got out the door in a whirlwind of flawless efficiency and Eren slumped on the couch and sighed. It did kind of suck. He and Mikasa had met when they were ten, the touchy doctor's son and the quiet transfer kid forming a bond that had outlasted both the maelstrom of puberty and Mikasa's family moving back to Japan. When Eren had decided to take a gap year after getting his degree, reuniting with his friend and spending his time broadening his horizons overseas seemed like both a fun and cost-effective way to live. Not that he or Mikasa were short on cash; Grisha had told him to experience all he could while he was young and his allowance was generous. Mikasa didn't have an allowance, but she didn't need one; she worked as some sort of legal troubleshooter for her mother's company and would probably be CEO by the time she was thirty.

And now her large, lovely Tokyo apartment was his for however many weeks she'd be gone in the US. Eren was going to miss her. What rotten timing.

Still, it was only a few weeks out of a whole year, and Eren had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. Mikasa's stories of her homeland had kindled a minor obsession with the country of Japan, even though Eren's attempts to learn the language himself had been a bit half-hearted. He'd known he'd be able to rely on Mikasa to show him around and get him places.

Well, time to not be entirely useless, he thought. Japan was his oyster, and on the bright side, Mikasa wasn't going to be looking over his shoulder.

He lasted a week. Food wasn't so bad; he could always eat out, and most times the universal gesture of pointing at what he wanted turned out to be adequate, although he'd ordered and reluctantly eaten a few things he hadn't intended to. He made sure Mikasa's bonsai were well-watered, but the apartment, save for her room, got progressively messier. He got lost on the trains twice, and spent twenty minutes talking to a policeman whose grasp of English was hardly much better than Eren's Japanese, trying to find his way home. He was getting sick of eating at the three bars within walking distance of Mikasa's apartment.

The final straw was grocery shopping. He needed toothpaste and shampoo and a dozen other things because he'd been putting it off but he'd thrown out the empty packaging and when actually faced with the shop display hewas utterly overwhelmed by the choices. In the end he bought some junk food, because at least he knew what it was, and some orange juice which turned out to be the kind with the pulpy bits in it which he hated.

He complained bitterly to Armin, who could offer little more than sympathy, but put on a brave face for Mikasa, who always sounded tired and stressed. He didn't want to worry her and he _knew_ she'd worry.

“If the place is a mess at least hire some help,” Armin said over Skype. “Or a translator or something. You look awful and you're clearly not having a good time.”

“Do you really think you can hire someone to help foreigners buy groceries?” Eren asked.

Armin shrugged, “I don't know. Google it and see.”

“All the websites are in Japanese,” Eren grumbled, but nevertheless he gave it a try. Every time he found something that might work he ran it through Google translate. Armin eventually signed off but Eren kept looking; at least it felt like he was being proactive.

Eren was scrolling through translated text when something caught his eye.

_Put him to work. Have him do errands. He can go shopping with you._

“Shopping! Yes, that's what I need.”

The website was OssanRental, and it was some sort of home service from what Eren could see. The rates converted to what seemed a reasonable ten dollars an hour. Eren didn't hesitate, he filled out the online form and made a booking, adding a special request that whoever they sent needed to speak English.

There was a response in his inbox the next morning, in reasonable English, letting him know that his booking had been made and confirming the time and place he was to meet the Ossan. They also sent him a five percent discount on his next rental, which Eren was careful to save; he might need to go shopping again.

Eren arrived a bit early, and he hung around in the shade of an awning, watching the crowds come and go.

“Eren-sama?” A deep voice startled him from his reverie.

He was being addressed by a short Japanese man, neatly and far better dressed than Eren himself was in a sports-coat and trousers. His age was hard to guess, but he was definitely much older than Eren himself, a thread or two of silver in his neat undercut.

“Um, hi,” Eren said, very self-concious. He'd been expecting maybe student or an old lady not...not this. “You're from the Ossan place right?” Please let this not be a mistake.

“I am Levi,” he bowed low and Eren dipped his head a bit nervously in answer. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yeah, same,” Eren said. Such a nice voice. His hair looked really silky. Eren bet it smelled nice- okay stop. You have been stuck in the apartment with only Skype for company for too long if you're drooling over the shopping help guy. He handed over his money, including the cost of the train fare to get there and Levi thanked him gravely.

“So, what would you like to do today?” Levi asked him.

Drinks, dinner, romantic stroll. “I need to do some shopping. My Japanese isn't very good,” he mumbled.

Levi smiled and said he understood and Eren was so relieved. Eren explained he had a shopping list already written up and Levi told him he was very organised and Eren smiled and said he wasn't really.

Levi carried the basket and they wandered around the grocery store. He was incredibly helpful, as he didn't only translate things but also gave recommendations whenever Eren asked for them, and was generally very easy to talk to. He was strong too; he insisted on carrying all of Eren's shopping in such a polite manner that Eren couldn't bring himself to refuse.

When they got back to the apartment, Eren felt a little ashamed of the state he'd left it in. He'd explained his circumstances to Levi by this point, and Levi looked a bit sternly at him.

“I know, I know. I should clean it up.”

“Would you like me to help?” Levi asked.

Eren blinked. The website did say other errands. Put him to work, even. “Well, I.” It seemed wrong to make such a well-dressed guy clean his house.

“Ah, the hour's nearly up,” Levi said, looking at his watch. “Unless you want to buy extra time?”

“Yes!” Eren said quickly. “I mean, uh, okay, let's do some cleaning.” Eren asked how much time Levi had and he was pleased, somehow, when Levi said he had no other customers that day.

“The rest of my day is available, Eren-sama.” He smiled, and Eren's heart thumped.

He paid.

He paid and Levi took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves and Eren stared at his forearms as they put away the groceries and got to work. Eren had expected Levi to tell him not to work, but Levi seemed happy to let him do as he pleased. Whatever 'Eren-sama' wanted, he got.

So they cleaned together, Eren washing the dishes while Levi efficiently and seriously ran a duster over everything, tidying as he went.

“I feel like I'm in a Studio Ghibli film,” Eren muttered.

“Do you like them?” Levi asked.

Eren said he did and they talked about that while they worked, and talked about films in general and Levi seemed able to talk about anything. By the time the apartment was clean and Eren had made them some tea as thanks, the second lot of time Eren had bought was running out, and Levi said regretfully that he had to be heading home.

“Thank you so much,” Eren said. “I was really, really, well, glad you could help out. And it was good to talk to you.”

“It was my pleasure, Eren-sama. Please hire me again some time.”

“Yeah, yeah I'd like that.”

Eren closed the door and sighed and went to email Armin to let him know what a genius he was.

Two days later, Eren found himself back at Ossan Rental's booking screen. He felt a bit guilty about it; now that Levi had explained some things, he felt he could probably manage to buy the basics himself, and he didn't need to go shopping again, but he was paying for his time so he wouldn't be a bother, surely.

He just needed a translator to help him buy new clothes. That's all.

The confirmation email was swift and the next day Eren got up earlier than usual and spent a lot of time in front of the bathroom mirror. He just didn't want Levi to think he was a slob all the time.

Levi didn't show up.

When Eren heard his name in an unfamiliar voice he looked up from his phone. And up, and up. The man before him was some sort of miracle of genetics; he had blonde hair and reasonably tanned skin, and Eren guessed he had to be part Japanese at least, but mostly god, he decided.

He gaped stupidly at him.

He introduced himself as Erwin and said he was from Ossan Rental and Eren was, very, very glad he'd thought to scrub up a bit. He was also nearly tearful with bewilderment; was it just a coincidence or were all Japanese home helpers incredibly hot older guys? He had to wonder if the universe was playing some sort of joke on him.

“You are wondering why I'm blond?” Erwin asked. His English was accented, but in a different way to Levi's.

“Well, kinda.” It was an excuse to stare.

“My father is Brazilian, my mother is Japanese,” he explained. “What would you like to do today, Eren-sama?”

Eren liked the way they said that. Never what did he need help with, but what would he like to do? It made him feel like he was on a date. Go down on my knees before you, he thought.

“I was going to buy some clothes today.”

Erwin implied that nothing would give him greater pleasure than to help, and Eren was happy to let him take the lead, since he had no clue where to even start looking. Erwin was attentive and flattering, but he gave good advice too, and the two hours Eren had paid for went by far too fast. He paid for more.

Erwin stood out even more than Eren did, and sometimes it felt like half the mall was looking at them. Eren bought some things to send Armin as well, as a thank you for his suggestion. He showed Erwin his photo to help him pick something out, explaining, although he couldn't say entirely why it was so important, that Armin was just a friend. They had lunch in a cafe that sold little cakes that looked like cats, so cute that Eren didn't feel entirely happy about eating them.

Erwin, like Levi, was a good listener, but Eren wanted to know more about him too, being such a widely-travelled and impressive sort of person. He couldn't quite bring himself to ask why he worked at Ossan Rental, however.

“I was expecting Levi again,” Eren said, as they strolled, Erwin carrying his bags over his arm. “I mean, I'm not complaining!” Eren backtracked, “You're amazing too.”

“You can request someone specifically when you make the booking,” Erwin said. “I'd be very happy if you requested me again.”

“I see,” Eren said, staring at his feet and fighting a flush. “Well, I would like to. I don't know what to request you for.” As generous as Grisha was, he probably wouldn't stand for a shopping spree every week.

“It doesn't have to be for a reason.” Erwin looked slightly surprised. “If you like talking to us we are happy to do that.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, maybe.” Eren supposed it didn't matter to them either way; they got paid the same no matter what they were doing. Maybe he'd be an easy customer and they'd like him especially.

Eren went home with a bunch of nice new clothes and a big smile on his face. Maybe the whole thing was a bit weird, but Japan was a bit weird, he decided. That didn't mean it was bad.

The long, hot summer days passed pleasantly enough, and Eren tried to restrict the number of times he called upon the gentlemen of Ossan Rental to entertain him. They made good tourist guides on top of their other talents and Erwin took him to Akihabara and they stayed until late playing arcade games and window shopping, and Eren only realised later that Erwin had stayed much longer than he'd paid him for.

Levi gave him a tour of the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and they were caught by a summer storm. They waited under a shelter and when Eren saw the time and asked Levi if he needed to pay Levi smiled and shook his head. Their hands rested on the bench almost close enough to touch as they stared out at the rain.

It was turning out to be the most wonderful brilliant summer and Eren told Mikasa cheerfully that everything was going well. She had absolutely nothing to worry about.

“Are you eating okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. I was eating out a lot, well, I still do but my cooking is getting better.” With Levi's patient instruction at least. “I went to all these places,” he continued.

“You're not worried about getting lost any more?”

“Well, my Japanese is improving too.” Both Erwin and Levi helped him study, although they were both pretty strict in teaching mode. It was like being back at high school sometimes, but the teachers were very, very hot and he didn't complain. Maybe he even liked it a little.

“How come?”

“I've been practising. I found this really great service.”

“Service?”

“Yeah. Like, you pay and they help you with everything; shopping, cleaning and stuff but you can go out too. Like they show me around places and make sure I don't get lost and it's um, well a lot of fun.”

“Are these people pretty girls?” Mikasa asked suspiciously.

“No? Actually they are these guys, and they're pretty hot to be honest. I don't really know why they're working for a home help service.”

“Hot guys? Eren, you idiot!”

“What, what?” He'd thought she'd be pleased he'd solved all his problems.

“That's not a home help service, that's compensated dating.”

“It is?” Eren said faintly. He didn't want to believe it, but now an awful lot of things were starting to make more sense; their ease with just going out for drink or for a walk, the way they were so attentive, their sheer attractiveness.

Fuck, Eren thought. He didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the call with Mikasa, his head was full of too many confusing things.

He had basically been paying prostitutes. Was it legal? He could only imagine his father's face- no no, it was probably fine. Mikasa would have said something if he'd actually broken the law. But that meant Erwin and Levi did those sorts of things for a living with other people. It was too horrible to contemplate and his mind furnished him with a series of awful mental images and he thumped his head on the desk trying to get them out. Why were they stuck doing that sort of thing?

Maybe they only liked him because he didn't ask them to do anything like that. Maybe he was a break from whatever degradations that they normally suffer.How awful. And worse, all this time, if he'd asked for the things he'd barely dared imagine they would have-

No no no.

This couldn't go on.

He went to Ossan Rental's website one last time and put in a special request to see both Erwin and Levi. He was such a regular customer by now, he doubted they'd refuse him.

He got an email reminding him that the cost would be twice as much and confirming the day and time.

They already knew where his apartment was, and they arrived on time.

Their usual smiles fade when they saw Eren's expression, and they hurried to ask him what was wrong.

He'd meant to be logical and calm about this but as soon as he saw them in person his heart hurt. “How can you do this?” he asked them. Pleaded. “You're both so nice and talented and surely you could find something else, something that doesn't mean you have to...do those things.”

“I'm afraid I don't really understand,” Levi said. Erwin looked equally puzzled.

“To sell yourselves like this, it's, it's not right. You deserve so much better. Not do to do this.” What had Mikasa called it again? “Compensated dating.”

“Well, I suppose you could call it that,” Erwin said. He grinned, “It's a bit like that sometimes.”

“I'm so dumb,” Eren drooped. “I had no idea.”

“It doesn't really make any difference what you call it,” Levi said.

“You shouldn't have sex without love!” Eren declared, knowing he was sounding stupid but floundering in his own inability to get his message across.

They stared at him.

“We don't do that, Eren-sama,” Erwin said gently.

“Yeah, you've have the wrong idea,” Levi said, looking slightly amused. “We're companions. Most of our clients are women who've forgotten what it's like to be treated well. They want an older man to keep them company and give them advice, mostly.”

“I like the work,” Erwin said. “I was a host for a while, but I prefer this. I feel like I'm helping people a little.”

“But all the stuff we did,” Eren mumbled. “Felt like a date.”

“That's what you asked for,” Erwin said.

Eren heaved a great sigh. All his energy had left him. He'd misunderstood, a little, but now he had to face the fact that he paid for their time, and sex or not, it didn't mean anything.

“I thought, well, I didn't think that was what you guys did. I don't know any more. This is so confusing.” He rubbed his forehead. “I'll get you your money at least.”

“Wait.” Levi touched his arm. “It's nice of you to care for us.”

“Of course I care for you. I care a whole lot. I'm sorry. I'm just seeing things, because I didn't realise what I was paying for.”

He felt so stupid.

“Well,” Erwin said. “You haven't paid us yet. So, we're not working right now.” He glanced at Levi and Levi nodded slightly. “So, how about we take you out somewhere?”

“What?”

“A date,” Levi interrupted. “Go out with us on a date is what he means.”

“You want to do that with me?”

Levi sighed exasperatedly.

“We want to do lots of things with you,” Erwin said. “You're our cutest and most favourite customer, after all.”

“Don't call me a customer,” Eren mumbled. “I'm not paying you right now.”

Levi smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “You finally get it.”

Eren got it.


	7. Surprise (Eren Can't Play)

“Levi, I have discovered something.” Erwin never knocked, but Levi's office was entirely glass so it didn't really matter. He was leaning against the door frame with a pleased, smug expression which meant that he hadn't discovered some gaping hole in their code at least.

It didn't mean anything good, either.

“What do you want? I'm trying to get this report finished for our shareholders.” Levi handled the money and Erwin handled the people, and they'd both created the code their business was built around.

“You'll get it done. It's not due 'til Friday. You know that intern you hired because of his big eyes?”

“You hired him as much as I did. In fact, I seem to recall Eren sneezed during the interview and you turned bright red.”

“It was a very cute sneeze.” Erwin had zero shame.

“If you're going to gossip about our employees at least close the damn door.”

Erwin did so. “Anyway, you know we run internet searches on our employees periodically to see if they've done anything hilarious?”

“That's not what it's for and you know it.”

Erwin stalked across the room and laid his hands flat on Levi's desk. Levi hoped they were clean.

“Do you want to see him screaming and gasping for the camera or not? I didn't have to share this with you.”

“He's made porn?” Levi didn't know if he was disappointed or excited or concerned by the thought. It would be unprofessional to watch anyway.

“No. Well, not that I've found. He's got a youtube channel.”

“Oh.” That wasn't so bad.

Erwin dragged the chair around to Levi's side and they sat in front of the screen as Erwin gave him the url.

The channel was called Eren Can't Play, and it looked pretty new. Only a few videos had been uploaded and Levi clicked on the oldest one.

Eren always wore professional looking suits to work, although Erwin and Levi didn't really enforce a dress code, and it was strange to see him in a tshirt. He was sitting in front of his computer, and Levi glanced at the room behind him, gauging how much of a mess it was. It was pleasant to see him so relaxed.

“Hi guys,” Eren said. “Although, I guess this is mostly for you, Armin, and whoever you give the link to. Um, so everyone tells me watching me play horror games is really funny. Play might be too strong a term though. I haven't actually finished one which is a bit sad because I really like them. So this isn't going to be a normal let's play, it's going to be um, a watch Eren fail to play. Now I don't have to look for a job any more and I have some free time I thought I'd start this.”

He rambled on endearingly for a while, grinning sweetly at the camera.

“Okay so, I'm going to play Heart of the House, which I've tried to play before and hopefully I'll get a bit further this time knowing you guys are watching me. I'll put the game in the corner of the screen since people tell me my face is the best bit. I'll start a new game, and here we go.”

Five minutes later, Levi had to cover his mouth with his hand and bite the inside of his lip to stop himself laughing. Erwin had seen it before and was watching his reaction as well as Eren's video and he said, “Nothing's actually happened yet, you realise.”

Eren shrieked. “Ah! Oh god what was that? Oh, okay it was just the noise when I close the menu. Why does the menu have noise? Okay I'm just gonna hide behind this coat-stand and open this closet. Pleaselettherenotbesomethingawfulinside. Pleasepleaseplease.”

Eren's scream when what turned out to be an empty greatcoat fell out of the closet onto him made Levi jump with surprise, and Eren's subsequent gibbering and flailing had them both shaking with suppressed laughter. Levi glanced at the length of the video and decided he was on his lunch break, because he was _fascinated_ even though he hadn't played the game.

Who knew their intern was so loud?

**

Eren loved his job. Well, he'd been unemployed for long enough that he probably would have loved almost any job, but working for CyberRecon was actually pretty great. They sold various secure internet services and with the recent focus on how little privacy the web offered, the atmosphere at the company was very positive; this was their moment, and they were going places.

And they paid their interns reasonably well.

Technically Eren was attached to their 'tame hacker', Hange, but the company was still small enough that he ran errands for whoever needed them. Eren desperately wanted to impress the bosses, not just because he wanted a permanent job but because they were both really impressive guys, and he did his best to stay alert to any way he might be useful to them.

He'd been at his desk when he saw Erwin stride across from his office to Levi's. He looked pleased, Eren thought, and he was glad; he wanted things to go well. He found himself watching as Erwin spoke with Levi. Levi seemed bad-tempered but Eren knew it was mostly an act, or rather, he never directed his ill temper at undeserving targets. When something went wrong, he never lashed out. He did, however, have really high standards, and Eren had surreptitiously taken notes about how he liked his tea, and now Levi almost smiled when he was the one making it.

Erwin was easier to get on with, but kind of more intimidating. Eren always felt a bit humbled by his friendliness. He wasn't too picky about his coffee, but Eren was careful anyway.

Now he glanced at them every so often as they peered intently at something on Levi's screen. It must be important, Eren thought, if Erwin had interrupted Levi's work and Levi hadn't minded.

Levi had his hand covering his mouth, and Erwin kept glancing at him for a reaction to whatever it was they were looking at. It must be serious, Eren thought.

But not bad, because when Levi moved his hand to talk he was smiling, and looking rather disbelieving, while Erwin seemed smug.

They must have worked out something really difficult. They were so talented.

“Eren, Eren?”

“Huh?” He glanced up to see Hange looking at him.

“Have you finished?”

“Oh! No, sorry. I'll get it done before lunch.” He bent over his computer again. When he looked up his bosses had gone.

**

That night Erwin watched the rest of Eren's videos, he and Levi liveblogging them.

[10:47 PM] CorporalNitro: He is so shit at this. He gave up after an hour of playtime. Looked like he was gonna cry. haha

Erwin and Levi had met via a counterstrike clan when they were at college, and despite the years that had passed since, they retained their old usernames across platforms for their non-professional web activity.

[10:48 PM] CorporalNitro: I'm gonna play this fucking game.

[10:48 PM] ComdrDeadShot: He said in a comment he was gonna try and play Lastlight Cove next. I hear that's terrifying.

[10:54 PM] CorporalNitro: Reviews are pretty good. He's gonna faint or some shit. I'm gonna play it first tho.

Erwin thought about this and realised anticipating the surprises would add an extra dimension and he got on Steam and bought the game himself.

[02:07 AM] ComdrDeadShot: U still playing?

[02:07 AM] CorporalNitro: Just got out of the lighthouse. Gonna sleep tho. How far did you get?

[02:07 AM] ComdrDeadShot: Stuck in the fucking storm drain that groaning thing won't go away.

[02:07 AM] CorporalNitro: He can't get you if you get over the fence. There is a barrel you can jump on but you gotta run. Wait til he goes down the other end.

[02:08 AM] ComdrDeadShot: Ty.

The next morning they both turned up to work bleary-eyed; it was rather nostalgic. The reviews hadn't been kidding about the fear-inducing nature of the game. Erwin had taken a while to get to sleep once he'd stopped playing, his head still full of the protagonist's terrified breathing, and the back and forth of oily waves on the beach.

By the weekend Levi had almost finished the game and they'd both been obliged to stay late at work to make up for lost productivity. It didn't matter so much; it was their company after all, but Erwin at least was feeling vaguely guilty about the whole thing.

And he wanted to clear his weekend; Eren was due to put up another video.

The video went up Sunday morning and Erwin made himself coffee and sat down to enjoy it.

“So um, thank you to Jean, I guess, for making fun of my videos in _hi_ svlog and sending all this traffic my way, which is great. As for the people who are commenting. Um, like, if you're gonna tell me I'm gay or a pussy or whatever, uh, don't bother? One, yeah I'm gay, and if that bothers you please fuck off, and two, cats are cute and this entire fucking channel is me being too scared to play horror games anyway. You're not telling me anything I don't know; it's kind of the point. But if you want to recommend me any games or anything. Please do.”

“You tell 'em,” Erwin murmured. He tried not to think too much more about Eren's revelation, but he was aware Levi would be getting the same information about their employee.

“Okay, I'm gonna play Lastlight Cove because everyone tells me it's great and I'm afraid of sharks, so, let's go.”

Eren didn't get all that far. Erwin ended up forgetting his coffee entirely as he watched Eren pull faces and actually hunch down in his seat when his character was hiding from something. When he was searching desperately for a way out of the warehouse, he leaned forward, breathing heavily and biting on his lip, his face taking up most of the screen.

He shrieked and flinched away from the screen and practically cried about how scared he was and by the end Erwin was crying too; with laughter.

Eren was dangerously cute.

At work on Monday Levi complained that Eren hadn't gotten anywhere near the 'good bits' as he called them.

“You know when you check into the hotel and you end up escaping via the fire escape and then it breaks? I was looking forward to that. He was gonna have a heart attack.”

“You're so cruel,” Erwin said, grinning.

“Aw, he's enjoying himself. He said so in the comments.”

“You're reading the comments?”

“Maybe,” Levi said defensively. “I wanted to know what kind of shit they were heaping on him.”

“And then you were going to enact revenge?”

“No of course not,” Levi muttered.

“Uh huh.”

“Anyway, they're not heaping shit on him. Well, not that much.” Levi scowled. “Plenty of guys hitting on him though.”

 

**

Eren was surprised by the popularity of his channel and as his number of subscribers grew he tried to put out videos more often. It wasn't hard. As Lastlight Cove got scarier, his playing sessions grew shorter as he scared himself right out of the game.

A couple of weeks later he was shrieking as his character tried valiantly to climb a fence while the fishman behind him grabbed him and pulled him back for gory dismemberment. He decided he had to stop. It was too much.

His heart pounding, he watched the death screen float in front of his eyes and shook his head.

“I can't take any more of this,” he said shakily. “I quit. I'll have a look at some of your other suggestions guys. This game's too fucking scary.”

He knew he'd get lots of disappointed comments, but he was braced for them.

He wasn't expecting a comment he got from an empty account called ComdrDeadShot.

_Play another hour of Lastlight Cove and I'll donate $100 to the charity of your choice._

Huh. He decided to sleep on the idea.

“Okay guys, I'm back and although I said I'd quit Lastlight Cove, I got a comment offering to donate some money to charity if I kept playing. I've picked the cat shelter in my city, there's a link in the description if anyone wants to donate to help keep the kitties warm and fed. I don't know if you're legit, Commander DeadShot, but I will take up your challenge and I guess we'll find out.”

Eren laughed. “I can't believe you guys like this so much you're going to pay. Oh god, I feel like a stripper.” He took a deep breath and covered his face for a moment. “Okay, Eren. Do it for the cats; they're relying on you.”

He got the feeling that ComdrDeadShot had played the game, because the next section was terrifying; he was forced into the dark ocean by the inhuman searchers on the shore and he yelped as the screen told him something was biting his toes.

“I don't like the water,” he moaned. “Is my hour up yet, oh God keep swimming do I need to stay out of the light? Oh God oh God there goes my health bar.”

The day after he posted the video, he got an email from the cat shelter, saying that a hundred dollars had been donated in his name. Eren didn't have time to upload another gameplay video but he did send a message to ComdrDeadShot thanking him for his donation.

**

“You paid him,” Levi said, while Erwin calmly sipped his coffee.

“Technically we both pay him, since we agreed that all our interns deserve a decent wage for the work they do.”

“That's not what I meant.”

“I didn't pay him, I paid some cats' home. Besides,” Erwin grinned. “I knew an hour should get him to the water bit. That part managed to scare _me_. I'm actually impressed he made it through.”

Levi smiled at the memory, “I guess that was pretty hilarious.” They looked at each other. “I wonder,” Levi continued. “How much it would take to get him to the lighthouse.”

The next video started with Eren shaking his head, “So apparently there are two of you now.”

“There always were, Eren,” Levi said quietly.

“And apparently, I will get fifty dollars for the cats every page of the old journal I find. How many pages are there? I'm not going to look it up and see, I'm just, I guess I have to go back to Lastlight Cove, even though after last time I really, really don't want to. But this is the furthest I've ever gotten through a horror games so I guess I should thank you sadistic people laughing at my absolute terror. Plus Jean is really envious that my viewers are obviously loaded.”

It took Eren quite some time to find all the journal pages, and once he had Erwin had thought up a new challenge. Levi came to regard it as a sort of hobby. It didn't seem to affect anyone's work, and he saw no harm in it.

At least, until the week a deadline approached.

“So, there isn't going to be a video for a few days at least,” Eren said. “We're busy at work and my very hot bosses are going to be giving us lots of overtime and free pizza. So I'll see you on the other side.”

Usually Levi and Erwin left a comment on Eren's videos but this time Levi couldn't work out what he wanted to say, and he noticed Erwin was suspiciously quiet as well.

“He's an idiot for saying things like that when he's so easily identifiable,” Levi said the next day.

“He's a sweetheart,” Erwin said.

Levi couldn't really argue with that.

“It's doesn't matter,” Erwin continued firmly. “It's not making any difference at work, so who cares?”

Some time later, Levi realised that they'd both dearly underestimated Eren Jaeger.

“So I'm actually really near the end of Lastlight Cove, and I was thinking about what I should do next. And I've also been doing a bit of adding up. And my two most generous donors, you know who you are, between you have raised over two and a half grand for the cats' home. And I know your usernames and you're always in the comments and you're always really funny and anyway.” Eren leaned forward, lacing his fingers together. “This time, I've got a challenge for you. And for me. I will play Beyond the Dark: Edge of Nightmares all the way through if you tell me who you are.”

Eren bit his lip.

“Okay?” he said quickly. “Let me know. Bye.”

Levi slumped in his chair. “Fuck.”

**

The atmosphere at work was strange. Erwin and Levi were in Erwin's office when Eren arrived, and they both looked concerned and distracted as they talked. Eren felt a stab of worry. What if the company wasn't doing well? Maybe something had happened. He went to the kitchen and made their tea and coffee extra carefully. If they needed him to he'd take a pay cut, he decided. He would do his bit, even though he was just an intern.

They were silent when he brought in the drinks. Eren smiled nervously and put down the cups and left as quickly as possible. The timing was the worst, because he was already pretty nervous. It had taken him nearly two days to work up the nerve to post his last video. He just felt he wanted to know these people better, these generous, funny guys (he was pretty sure they were guys) who thought his videos were worth paying for and who brightened his day whenever they left comments. He was sure by now that they knew each other; not just because of the similar usernames, but the way they interacted. They were friends, he guessed, and he wanted to be their friend too.

Mid-morning he checked his messages and there was a message from CorporalNitro.

_Sure, we'll come clean. We'll meet you at Bruiser's Coffee at 12:30 today._

Eren's eyes widened. He hadn't hidden which city he lived in, but he had no idea they lived in the same one. And wanted to meet him. Shit. Bruiser's was central and crowded and a safe place to meet, but Eren realised his heart was pounding. He'd expected, at best, a link to Facebook or something, or a photograph. Did he look okay? Why did he care? They were probably just a couple of unfairly wealthy gamer guys.

Eren left for lunch at noon sharp, feeling queasy and nervous as he made his way through the lunchtime crowds towards Bruiser's. He didn't know what they'd look like, but they'd obviously know him.

He hovered around the edge of the cafe, scanning the crowded tables anxiously.

“Oi, Eren!” He knew that voice.

“Boss!” Eren spotted Levi sitting at a table. “And other boss,” he added when he realised Erwin was with him. “Hi. I'm just waiting for-”

“We know why you're here,” Erwin said. “We invited you.”

It took Eren a few moments to process this, matching styles of speaking with styles of commenting.

“Wha?” Eren gaped. “ _You_? You're Commander DeadShot?”

“If it helps, we are sorry,” Levi said.

He's CorporalNitro, Eren thought. And they've been watching my videos. Liking my videos. How many times had he mentioned his 'hot bosses' by now? Shit.

“Please, sit down, Eren,” Levi said.

That evening Eren turned on his camera.

“Hi guys,” he said quietly. “So uh, today was a surprise.” He grinned. “I good surprise. And I will be starting Beyond the Dark next time and at this rate I may have the change the name of my channel. Anyway, let's play.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end of my eruriren week fills. It was a huge lot of fun and I was absolutely delighted to see so many other people taking part. I've been gorging myself on fic all week and it's been awesome. Let's do this again sometime (but not for a while; some of those prompts were _hard_.)


End file.
